Saint Panteleimon's is an Orthodox Christian parish of East Slavic tradition serving the New South Wales Central Coast and the northern suburbs of Sydney. Our parish includes Orthodox Christians of Russian, Ukrainian, Belarussian, and other backgrounds. We are a parish of the Australian and New Zealand Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, a self-governing part of the Russian Orthodox Church, is completely independent in pastoral, educational, administrative, management, property, and civil matters. Our parish is doctrinally Orthodox, liturgically traditional, and welcoming to all. In our services we use English, the language of this country, together with Church Slavonic, the liturgical language of the Slavic peoples. Established in 2000, our parish is one of the newest in our Diocese.
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We have services on the first and third Sundays of each month and on the preceding Saturday evenings. We also have services on some major feast-days during the week. Our current Schedule of Services can be viewed here. Our church is generally only open when we have services. Visitors are always welcome! If you would like to contact us before visiting, it is best to send an email. We check this inbox regularly and will respond to messages as soon as we can. You can also contact us in the same way to arrange baptisms and memorial services. Please note: The telephone number that has been listed on Google is a private number and messages or unknown calls to this number will not be responded to or answered.
Our parish priest, Archpriest James Carles, serves in a voluntary capacity. Like many clergymen of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, he has secular employment during the week. He is also presently undertaking full-time tertiary study. In addition to our parish, Father James has responsibility for Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in Newcastle and Saint Symeon of Verkhoturye Orthodox Mission on the New South Wales Mid North Coast. As a result, his pastoral availability is strictly limited to scheduled services in the three communities and “needs” such as baptisms, weddings, end-of-life care, and funerals. Confessions are only heard during evening services or before Divine Liturgy. Molebens and memorial services may be arranged after Divine Liturgy on Sundays. Father James can be contacted by email here.
Our parish is a small one that relies on community support and the voluntary service of our clergy to make ends meet. If you find this website to be of interest or of assistance, please consider helping us. Donations may be made directly to our bank account:
St Panteleimon Russian Orthodox Community of Gosford
BSB: 032-596 Account number: 140923
May the Lord bless you!
On Friday 3 April and Saturday 4 April we will have services for the Sixth Saturday of Great Lent, Lazarus Saturday. Matins will be served at 6.00pm on Friday and the Hours and Divine Liturgy will be served at 9.00am on Saturday.
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On Saturday 4 April and Sunday 5 April we will have services for the Sixth Sunday in Great Lent, Palm Sunday. All-night Vigil with the blessing of wheat, wine, oil and five loaves and the blessing of pussy willows and palms will be served from 6.00pm on Saturday. The Hours and Divine Liturgy will be served from 9.00am on Sunday.
On Saturday 14 March and Sunday 15 March we had services for the Third Sunday of Great Lent, the Sunday of the Veneration of the Precious Cross. Matins with the bringing-out of the Cross was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning. At Divine Liturgy the customary prayers were offered for Orthodox unity, peace in Ukraine, and peace in the Holy Land. As Saturday 14 March was a day of commemoration of the departed, Matins on Saturday was preceded by a general panikhida at which we commemorated our departed parishioners, benefactors, and friends; the departed clergymen of our Diocese; and our departed family members. As an act of kindness in memory of their departed ones, many of those attending the panikhida brought non-perishable foods to be passed to a local charitable organisation for relief of the homeless.
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On Saturday 28 February and Sunday 1 March we had services for the First Sunday of Great Lent, the Sunday of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. All-night vigil was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning. Our church was full on both days, with many people taking the opportunity to confess and receive Holy Communion. Our choir was strengthened on Saturday evening and Sunday morning by choristers visiting from Sydney. In accordance with the practice of parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, 'The Order for a Hymn of Supplication for the Conversion of those in Error' was served at the end of Divine Liturgy on Sunday. Following the Sunday services, Seraphim Orthodox Shop held a successful Great Lenten Pop-Up Market in our church hall.
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On Monday, Wednesday and Thursday of the First Week of Great Lent (23-26 February), Great Compline with the reading of the Great Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete was served. The odes of the Great Canon were read by the parish rector alternately in Church Slavonic and English. During Great Compline many of those present participated in the reading and singing in both languages.
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Our Autumn 2026 Schedule of Services - covering late February and March, April and May - is now available in digital format. It includes all our services for Great Lent, Holy Week and Pascha. A copy of the English-language Autumn 2026 Schedule of Services is available here, and a copy of the Russian-language Autumn 2026 Schedule of Services is available here. Printed copies are available in church as of the weekend of 14-15 February.
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On Saturday 14 February and Sunday 15 February we had services for Meatfare Sunday, the third of the four Preparatory Sundays for Great Lent, and for the Great Feast of the Meeting of the Lord . All-night Vigil with the blessing of wheat, wine, oil and five loaves was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning. As Saturday 14 February was a day of commemoration of the departed, All-night Vigil on Saturday evening was preceded by a general panikhida to which many people brought non-perishable foods to be passed to a local charitable organisation for relief of the homeless. The services on Sunday were preceded by a blessing of water and followed by a seasonal blessing of fruit and the traditional Orthodox blessing of candles. Also following Divine Liturgy a memorial litia was served for four ever-memorable clergymen of our Diocese: Archbishop Paul (Pavlov) (+15 February 1995), Archpriest Nicholas Grant (+14 February 1995), Protodeacon Vasily Hadarin (+13 February 2021), and Protodeacon Constantine Moshegov (+ 30 January 2022, ordained deacon 15 February 2007). The Ladies’ Auxiliary later served blini (pancakes) in the parish hall.
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Updated 12 March 2026: On Saturday 31 January and Sunday 1 February we had services for the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, the first of the four Preparatory Sundays for Great Lent. All-night Vigil was served on Saturday evening and the Hours and Divine Liturgy were served on Sunday morning. At Divine Liturgy the customary prayers were offered for Orthodox unity, peace in Ukraine, and peace in the Holy Land. Following the service on Sunday a memorial litia was served for all the departed founders, benefactors and parishioners of our church, customarily remembered by us in prayer together on the weekend closest to the day of commemoration of Blessed Xenia of Saint Petersburg, the heavenly protector of our parish Ladies' Auxiliary.
